2012 GSS Racquet Stringers Symposium

GSS has an impressive lineup of seminar leaders and nearly all have participated in every symposium to date. Below is a list of the GSS Racquet Stringers Symposium seminar leaders who have joined us over the years to share their expertise and knowledge with participants.

TIM STRAWN is the owner of www.gssalliance.com, an interactive web site dedicated to serving the worldwide stringing community. He is also the owner and creator of the original web site at www.grandslamstringers.com Tim is the founder of the GSS Racquet Stringers Symposium, a MRT (Master Racquet Technician) with the United States Racquet Stringers Association (USRSA), and an original member of the Wilson Tour Services Stringing Team. Tim has serviced racquets for the ATP/WTA tours for 10 years at such tournaments as Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He was recognized by RSI Magazine as Stringer of the Year in 2007 and continues his role in developing and training the stringers from around the world at the annual GSS symposium.
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JOHN GUGEL is a MRT (Master Racquet Technician) and certification tester with the United States Racquet Stringers Association (USRSA), veteran tour stringer, and is the former owner of e-Tennis in Winter Park Florida. John is the winner of the “Top Design” award from Industrial Design Magazine for innovative racquet design and the winner of the “New Top 100 Products” award from Popular Mechanics Magazine for designing a series of six racquets, one of which was named to the top 100 list. John is highly regarded as one of the most experienced and knowledgeable racquet technicians in the world and has been involved in the GSS symposium from the very beginning.

BOB PATTERSON is a MRT (Master Racquet Technician) and certification tester with the USRSA. Bob has more than 25 years experience in the tennis industry. He founded and operated a successful tennis retail store for over 15 years and has worked as a District Sales Manager for a leading racquet manufacturer. Bob owns and operates RACQUETMAXX, a professional racquet service company that specializes in racquet customization and stringing. Bob has worked with many of the top professional players both past and present. He was recognized by RSi Magazine as the Stringer of the Year in 2005 and has served as a Contributing Editor with the magazine since 2006.

RON ROCCHI, Wilson Sporting Goods Principle Designer for Racquet Sports, has been creating and developing the best selling Wilson racquets for the last 10 years. As Global Tour Equipment Manager, he is responsible for servicing all Wilson touring professionals with their racquet customization needs. Ron serves as the Director of the Wilson Tour Services Stringing team, the official stringers of the U.S. Open, the Austalian Open, and the Sony Ericsson in Miami, Florida as well as other smaller events across the globe. Ron was also a creative force in the development of the Wilson BAIARDO stringing machine. Ron was recognized by RSI Magazine as Stringer of the Year in 2009.

DAVE BONE, Master Racquet Technician (MRT), is the Executive Director and Owner of the USRSA (United States Racquet Stringers Association). He is a graduate of the Professional Tennis Management (PTM) program at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. He has been a speaker at National Conventions for the USPTA, USPTR, and USTA. David’s mission is to bring the wealth of information the USRSA has to offer to as many tennis industry professionals as possible.

GRANT MORGAN is a MRT (Master Racquet Technician) with the United States Racquet Stringers Association (USRSA) and a veteran tour stringer of 7 years and over 75 tournaments worldwide including all four Grand slams and all Master series tournaments. Grant has served as the official stringer for the U.S. Men’s Davis Cup team, was recognized by RSI Magazine as Stringer of the Year in 2006, and also worked as the personal stringer to Andy Roddick during the 2003- 2004 ATP seasons.

MARK GONZALEZ of Alpha Racquet Sports is one of the most respected names in the industry when it comes to stringing machines and strings. Mark is a MRT (Master Racquet Technician) and a certification tester with the United States Racquet Stringers Association (USRSA) and has many years of experience in the retail business as well as experience stringing at the pro tour level. Mark is without a doubt the number one reason behind Alpha’s renowned reputation for outstanding customer care and service after the sale.

J.C. Carpentier joined the GSS symposium as a seminar leader in 2009 as a co-presenter in the Machine Repair & Maintenance seminar with Mark Gonzalez. J.C. is a partner at Tennis Machines located in Valley Park Missouri. They sell Alpha, Babolat, Ektelon, Gamma, Prince, and Winn stringing machines and they are the official service center for Prince. J.C. is widely recognized as a leading expert in the field of stringing machine repair and maintenance and his business, Tennis Machines is known as the very best in the United States when it comes to machine repair of any make or model.

Richard Parnell is one of the original seminar leaders who attended the inaugural symposium in Texas in 2007 and then again in Orlando in 2008. Richard is a professional stringer based in Fuengirola, Spain and has served for many years as a team member stringing racquets at ATP/WTA events. He’s been a fixture in the stringing cabin at Wimbledon for nearly 10 years as well as stringing for other major events around the world.

Dr Richard Zarda received his Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics from Columbia University in 1974 in the area of bioengineering and biomechanics (he was Columbia’s School of Engineering 1971 class salutatorian). He was an Assistant Professor in Engineering Science at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. from 1974 through 1976. He was a research analyst at the David Taylor Naval Research and Development Center from 1976 through 1978 concentrating in the area of finite element modeling of acoustical fluid/structure interaction problems. He joined Westinghouse in 1978 where was a Senior Engineer in the design and analysis of nuclear steam generators. He is an avid tennis player and his contributions to the 2011 symposium should be most interesting!

Ben Porter, Master Racquet Technician (MRT), currently works for Prince Sports as the territory manager for the New York City area. Ben is a graduate of the Professional Tennis Management (PTM) program at Methodist University, and worked for the PTM program from 2008 to 2011 as the Assistant Director. Ben has taught tennis for more than ten years and holds the top level United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) and Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) coaching certifications. Ben is also certified with the Professional Platform Tennis Association (PPTA), a member of the 2012 Cardio Tennis National Speaker Team, a Dartfish Certified Instructor (DCI) and is a Dartfish consultant for the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Player Development division.

Lance Andersen is a PTR National Tester and Clinician 4A, a member of the National Cardio Tennis Speaker Team, USPTA Certified, an Etcheberry ceritified coach, a member of Team Babolat and a member of the USRSA. He is also the chairmen of the PTR technology committee, the PTR Massachusetts state representative, the USPTA New England Lesson For Life Chairperson, a member of the Tennis Industry Association Technology Committee, a USTA New England adult comittee member, and USTA Eastern Mass Association League committe member.

Lance is a senior tennis professional at the Longfellow Club in Wayland MA and for the Tennis Academy of Harvard.

Lance was the recepient of the 2011 PTR & Tennis Industry Association Commitment to the Indusry Award and was named the 2011 PTR USTA New England PTR Professional of the Year. Previously he was named the 2010 USPTA New England Regional Pro of the year and the 2010 PTR Massachuesetts Member of the Year. Lance has been a speaker at tennis industry events for the PTR, Tennis Industry Association, USTA and USPTA.

When not on the court, Lance is a senior software engineer in the Java Engineering group at Oracle Corporation.

Vasiliy Guryanov, USRSA Master Racquet Technician (MRT), currently works at the Midtown Tennis Club in Chicago, Illinois. His responsibilities include being a Junior Competitive coach, Director of the Stringing Department, and an advisor to the Tennis Opportunity Program. Midtown Tennis Club has one of the largest 10U programs in the nation – with 550+ kids currently enrolled. Vasiliy holds Professional PTR certifications in Junior Development, and High Performance programs. Winner of the 2009 GSS Speed Stringing contest, Vasiliy has been a part of the Wilson Tour Stringing Team since 2010. Prior to Midtown, Vasiliy has worked at the Chicago Tennis and Golf from 1999-2008, and managed the tennis department for the last 4 years of employment.